Spotlight on Oracle performance tuning

Performance tuning -- keeping your database system and SQL queries running quickly and smoothly -- is one of the most important and demanding tasks for an Oracle DBA. When it comes to keeping your users happy with performance, your job is never done. And there's more than one way to skin a cat. All this month, we're focusing on making your work a little easier by keeping you up to speed on the best approaches to performance tuning. This special report compiles analysis, tips and expert advice on this topic, including new material and content from our archives, to help you conquer your daily tuning challenges. We've also updated our popular learning guide on performance tuning in Oracle -- browse through it for even more information on tuning, from basic steps for getting started to in-depth trade secrets.

• Optimizing Oracle performance (Chapter 1)
• First steps for determining database performance
• Oracle tuning part 1: Planning a tuning engagement
• Oracle tuning part 2: Determining the current state
• Oracle tuning part 3: Working the plan
• Fighting the performance war
• Why every performance tool stinks
• Oracle tuning indicators
• Oracle instance tuning techniques
• Oracle tuning myths debunked
• Brian Peasland answers some performance tuning questions
• Recovering from compulsive tuning disorder
• Performance tuning: The limits and limitlessness of time
• Advantages of reorganizing the database
• Changing parameters for better performance

• What is SQL tuning?
• High performing SQL -- where do you start?
• Tuning SQL and PL/SQL
• Rules for creating efficient queries
• Methods for creating high-quality database code
• Determining a query's response time
• Five Oracle tips in five minutes
• Difference between RBO and CBO
• Handling a large trace file
• Improving performance of inserts
• Check all active processes, the latest SQL and the SQL hit ratio

• Frequently asked questions and myths about indexes
• Oracle tuning: Blocksize and index tree structures
• Oracle SQL and index internals: Index rebuilds
• Do indexes affect performance of updates and inserts?
• Alternative solution to BITMAP index
• Improving performance with histograms
• Dropping composite index to improve performance
• Indexes for accessing marked rows
• Speed of indexing on tables with different numbers of fields

• Oracle disk I/O tuning: General disk architecture
• Oracle disk I/O tuning: Disk layout
• Oracle disk I/O tuning: Disk performance statistics
• Oracle disk I/O tuning: Disk capacity --The two-edged sword
• Oracle disk I/O tuning: Optimizing ATA performance
• ATA tuning in Windows
• ATA tuning in Linux, part 1
• ATA tuning in Linux, part 2
• ATA tuning in Linux, part 3
• ATA tuning in Linux, part 4
• Predictive modeling in Oracle
• Best organization of files on disks?

• Target values for performance statistics
• Learning to read a STATSPACK report
• Understanding a STATSPACK report
• Questions about plan stability
• Clarification on explain plan statistics and used COST
• Buffer deadlock in STATSPACK report

• Determining the space used by particular tables
• Multiple tablespaces or one tablespace with multiple datafiles?
• Partitioned vs. non-partitioned tables
• Deleting Parent and Child rows
• Finding full table scans in 9i
• In defense of full-table scans
• Better performance with varchar2(1) or number(1)?
• Script to show problem tablespaces
• What is the DUAL table costing you?
• Why Oracle hashing is so cool